The Flame and the Fan
by HikariKetsueki
Summary: On the day his family was murdered,why was he late from training? Sasuke remembers memories of his past, and he also remembers one person.SasuSaku friendship. The missing jigsaw piece to what happened 'that day' has been revealed. COMPLETE.R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Hoorah! My second fanfiction! I had originally planned this to be a oneshot... But I got somewhat carried away. I wanted challenge my writing abilities by trying to develop a style that imitates Sasuke's characteristics... And the result? A soon-to-be three-chapter fanfiction. Excuse Sasuke's haughty tone and shoot me, I think I went overboard. Still, Enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: Sasuke (and his pressuring family members) are all created by Masashi Kishimoto, SERIOUSLY, only a genius can think up of a character _like _Sasuke! Oh, rabid fan girl moments online are so rare for me, so I beg your pardon. _**

As he stood on the rocks, the waves crashed before him but he felt like he had succeeded

As he stood on the rocks, the waves crashed before him but he felt like he had succeeded. He understood everything now, and even though it had hurt him more than anything, he couldn't feel revenge or sadness anymore.

He closed his eyes and the past that had once wounded him have now become distant, although one memory that had remained hidden in his mind has now emerged clearly.

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I was born into a clan of greatness that ensured the safety of Konoha and my name was Uchiha. Uchiha Sasuke.

I was born into a clan where I was only a 'second best' – a mere paper fan next to a ball of fire – and my attempts to please my father only resulted in increasing the flame's glow. But that 'flame' was my brother, Uchiha Itachi, the prodigy who graduated from the academy at age seven, who became a chunin at age ten, who became an ANBU squad leader at age 13.

The benchmark was set, and I knew I could not surpass my brother's skills. But still, I used him as a goal – an excuse to tell myself to train harder – and to hope that one day my father would acknowledge me.

I often trained as much as I could, rotating from routines that improved my accuracy to routines that rained my chakra control. I would even train during recess on days at the academy, grasping every opportunity to perfect myself.

At first, a few of my classmates would join me in my training, testing their own strengths, but the all soon got bored of me and left me in peace.

I didn't care.

On one of the days, I was practicing a collection of jutsus that brother had previously shown me. The training grounds were empty, as all of my other classmates had shot off to the playground the second Iruka-sensei had us dismissed from class. I was sort of enjoying my own company when a voice startled me. A _girl's _voice.

"Hello," came the clear, confident voice behind me.

I sighed. Another silly admirer. Mother had banned me from calling them 'fangirls' because she said I was rude and that I might give them an inferiority complex or something.

I turned to face her, rolling my eyes and putting my hands down from a mid-seal.

"What do you want?" I said.

The girl smiled at me, twisting a lock of pink hair with a failed attempt of being cute. I immediately recognised her as Haruno Sakura, though not particularly at will, as the group of fangir – admirers – would always introduce themselves to me at least sixteen times per day to make sure I would remember.

"May I please…"

I dreaded it to be the 'can-I-be-your-girlfriend-line'. Heck, we were seven. SEVEN!

"… watch you train? I won't make a noise, I promise." Her green eyes brimmed with sincerity, with hands clasped together behind her back.

Another failed attempt. An epic one, I rudely added.

I shrugged and replied, "Feel free," and saw her suppress a delighted squeal before sitting against a tree.

I slipped a kunai out of the pouch that strapped firmly to my thigh and continued with my training.

At the end of recess, she kept her promise of not interrupting me and extinguished all signs of typical acts.

I swear I don't know how she did that.

But another thing that I also realised (through the corner of my eye) was that Sakura-san was truly enthused with my training – not just pretending the way I imagined, and I felt a pang of pride and happiness.

And I swear I don't' know how she did _that_.

**To be Continued... **

**_ Kukukukuku... Have I got you hooked yet? Please review, look out for the next chapter, and THANK YOU for reading. . _**

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	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Woohoo! Second chapter up! Sorry everybody, no appearance of Sakura!! However, this chapter is EQUALLY important, because it is a build-up for the next chapter. Haha, I somehow find this chapter easy to write, because the imitation of Sasuke is easier with the flashbacks that I used as reference (Chapter 220 onwards). Argh. I should stop ranting on, shan't I? Anyway, thanks for your support, and enjoy Chapter 2 of 'The Flame and the Fan'!! **_

_**Disclaimer: Sasuke (and his pressuring family members) are all created by Masashi Kishimoto, SERIOUSLY, only a genius can think up of a character **_**like **_**Sasuke! Oh, rabid fan girl moments online are so rare for me, so I beg your pardon.**_

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The day after that, I kneeled in front of my father on the tatami, eager to know his reaction. I had just received my first report from the academy, and having come first in every subject, I was sure that father would finally be delighted. He raised his eyes from the paper, eyes focused intently on me, but I couldn't read his expression.

"Keep this up, and you will become a fine shinobi like your brother,"

With that, he placed the report card beside him, stood up and left the room, footsteps pitter-pattering on the wooden floor. I sat there, defeated.

'Dad… I… I wanted you to say 'As expected from my child', like you did with brother…' I thought glumly.

Once again, I knew I was no match for the superiority of my brother. I was constantly compared with him, and I was not good enough yet.

Later at night, I decided to approach mother instead. Since my father and brother were away at an important meeting, I realised that dinnertime would be the best time. However, since I came home late from the academy, I found that she had finished eating and had already begun washing the dishes. Instead, rice, miso soup and teriyaki salmon was laid out on the table, ready for me to eat. I sat down, but hesitated to pick up the chopsticks.

"Mother… About father, what does he really think of me and my brother?"

The running water stopped, and she turned to face me.

"Why all of a sudden?"

"Am I a replacement for brother?" I asked. Mother gave me a warm smile, closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Your brother is your brother. You are you. Father's always concerned about the both of you."

"Then, why only my brother?" I cry out, looking up at her.

"That's not it…" she said softly, "Father is the representative of the whole clan, if the clan is in a bad position, he must protect it. Itachi is the older of the two of you… The job of looking after the clan must be left to him. That is probably why he pays more attention to your brother."

She paused, giving me another smile and pointed at herself.

"But the conversations in here alone… When he speaks to me, your father only talks about you."

My eyes widened with surprise, who would've known that? But Mother continued on.

"Because of that… he's very awkward with you."

I felt myself beaming with pleasure.

I believed every single word of mother's, and when my father decided to show me the katon goukakyuu no jutsu, I felt myself shining from the inside.

"You were taught the seals a while ago. To use it, you must draw chakra from your mouth into your chest – hold it there – then immediately blow it right out." he said sternly, the two of us standing at the pier.

"Okay!" I said confidently. 'My father's directly teaching me this jutsu.. At last… My father noticed me as well! I must fulfil his expectations…' I thought to myself, hands moving with the seals.

I followed his precise instructions and felt my heart racing when I released the chakra concentrated inside my chest.

The flame came out no bigger than my palm.

I caught father's face of disappointment, and then he said, "Hmm… You haven't reached Itachi's level…" He took a few steps away from me and began to walk home, leaving me alone with the sea.

"Maybe for you, it was too early," he continued as he distanced from me, "An Uchiha member is only seen as an adult when he can use katon. The Uchiha family trait is the manipulation of fire… The mind of Uchiha."

I was left panting for breath, exhausted from that one single attempt.

I was left behind, still yet not good enough to please my father.

**_To be Continued..._**

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Thank you for reading! Please review (it encourages me to keep writing), and please stay tuned for Chapter 3, because that will be the CLIMAX!! dramatic symphony music in the background Thanks again! .

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	3. Chapter 3

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**_A/N: Mehehe, Thanks for everybody who has read my story, especially to _Azumi Nagasaki_ and _teme-kun_!! I'm quite happy with the success of this, and I hope everybody will like my interpretation of what really happened during the Uchiha massacre. Oh yes. A special guest appearance by Uzumaki Naruto (well, the series is called NARUTO for a reason). Anyway, here's Chapter 3, and enjoy!! (Please do review for that shall make me very happy!)_**

_**Disclaimer: Sasuke (and his pressuring family members) are all created by Masashi Kishimoto, SERIOUSLY, only a genius can think up of a character **_**like **_**Sasuke! Oh, rabid fan girl moments online are so rare for me, so I beg your pardon.**_

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"Alright! Sasuke, here's your lunch. See you after your shuriken practice!"

"It's not practice! It's training!" I heard myself yell back to mother, "I'm off!"

I sped out of the main house, my weighted satchel swaying rhythmically. It was crammed with my training essentials, as well as extra sets of shuriken and kunai. I made sharp turns through the village whilst dodging people at the same time. Running past Ichiraku Ramen Bar, I spotted Naruto Uzumaki laughing heartily with Iruka-sensei and felt immensely jealous of their happiness. Why is it that Naruto doesn't even _have_ a father, yet still gets that sort of relationship with our sensei? It was difficult to maintain confidence in front of father, let alone have the opportunity to relax and just _talk _about _whatever_ with him.

But my main goal was still to surpass Itachi, and I smiled at the thought of this when I made it to the forest. Slowing down my pace, I walked into the clearing and slid the satchel off my shoulder; but as I did so, a ruffle of the bushes caught my attention.

An ambush? Or an enemy?

Instinctively pulling out an array of weapons, I spun around and lashed at the posed danger hidden behind the leaves.

"Kyaaaaa…!" a shrill cry rung out.

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"Sakura-san! _What _are you doing _here?_" I exclaimed, lowering my kunai from her throat.

The girl sat up and patted her hair back in shape – typical.

I narrowed my eyes and pulled her up, "Were you fo– "

"No! No, I wasn't. It's just that you looked really down these days at the academy… And I wondered if you need somebody to talk to… You know –"

I snorted. 'Yeah right. Sakura.' I thought but chose not to say.

She blushed, and then quickly said, "Oh yeah? Well, how's your _katon goukakyuu no jutsu _going then? Have you mastered it _yet_? I bet your dad's expecting you to have got it by now, right?"

"No – what?" I stumbled for words, backing away shyly. "I'vealmostgotitbutit'srealhardand – hey, how did _you _know?"

"I've got my sources," the pink-haired girl replies slyly.  
"Well, watch me. I'll show it to you right here, right now. I'm an Uchiha! I _can _do it," I retort, shoving the kunai back into my pouch and clasping my hands into fast, complicated seals. Compressing my chakra, I held my breath and released it, determined to show off the pride in my blood.

The result was a flame. This time, it was only just a little bigger than my head. Sure I had improved, but it was nothing compared to its true glory.

I heard a muffled laughter, and twirled around, finding Sakura-san holding her hand against her mouth.

"Icanusuallydobetterbutyou'rearoundandstuff," I babbled timidly.

And luckily, my clan and my own dignity was no further damaged.

I got it.

I got it on my second try straight afterwards.

It was just overwhelming. The heat just poured out and engulfed the area. I could tell Sakura-san was more than impressed, but my own talent also secretly surprised me as well. The ball of fire was enormous, and it was indeed mesmerising. Although beads of sweat dripped from my face, my heart was pounding with excitement. Wait until father sees this! I will finally be acknowledged for my _own _achievements!

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"Your brother become a chunin when he was ten?" Sakura wowed, as we both laid lazily on our backs, absorbing the warmth from the sun.

After releasing all that power in that successful katon, almost all my chakra was used up, so was it not reasonable to just take a break from training? After coming out of our stunned state, Sakura-san somehow persuaded me to just sit and rest. After _that_, we also somehow struck up a conversation.

At first it felt awkward – I don't usually feel comfortable to converse about things for no reason. But I soon got used to it, and opened my heart to her, watching the shapes of the cloud while just _lying there_.

"It's difficult," I mutter, "Itachi has such talent. I'm almost the same age as him when he mastered the _sharingan_, and here I am, all tired out from using a single katon. It's pathetic."

"No it's not. Your brother is different from you! Who knows, but maybe he's even worse than Naruto at genjutsu!"

With that, I laughed. Wholeheartedly.

"Maybe. Everything I do seems to make brother's abilities look far more superior than mine," I said softly. "It's like… Like I'm the paper fan, and he's the flame – all I do is helping him look good. And even without a fan, the fire will still continue to burn."

"That's not true," Sakura-san argued, sitting up and looking at me in the eyes. "Without a fan, a fire _may _continue to burn, but it won't last very long. Fanning it will constantly keep the fire alive and going – or at least for as long as it can – if you're the fan, and your brother's the fire; doesn't if mean that _you _are the encouragement that your brother needs? Instead of comparing yourself with Itachi-san, you should be proud of being the person that keeps him going!"

That struck me like a kunai knife.

Excuse me for my extremely graphic metaphors, but it is best to describe with things that I am most familiar with, right?

"I… I never thought about it that way…" I mumble.

"Of course you haven't!" she laughs, flopping back down next to me, "And I'm sure your dad has never either."

I thought about it for a while. What she's been saying to me is true, but for a second, I was uneasy to admit that. I had been so accustomed to my own way of thinking, Sakura-san's way of thinking was so… different. And about father… Perhaps…

"I should talk to father about it," I whisper.

"What did you say?"

"I should talk to father about it," I say a louder with confidence that I felt like I had. "I know father appreciates me for who I am, but I want to hear it from his own mouth. What I'll do is talk to him tonight. Make him understand how I feel."

"…"

"What? Is that a bad idea?"

"No, it's not! It's just that you sound so happy and confident all of a sudden."

"Geez, thanks for your support." I pout, punching her gently on the arm.

"Yeah, but I like you better this way anyway."

"Hey, you see that cloud? It's sort of shaped like Naruto's henge no jutsu last week?"

"Which one?"

"That one! On the left!"

It felt good to talk openly like this with somebody.

But if felt better to be able to impress somebody other than father.

_**To be Continued...**__**After posting this, I realised a major fault… SOME MINOR OOC-NESS OF SASUKE! What happened to my attempt of imitating his character? He sounds too happy, not to mention cute! Nooooo, a failure! (faints) Anyhow, I promise the next chapter shall be more in-character, so keep an eye on the update!**_

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_**Oh. Forgot to mention, the next instalment shall be the last part to The Flame and the Fan, so please, by all means read it! Do you sense my desperateness? **_


	4. Chapter 4

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A/N: Soooooo... This is the last installment to 'The Flame and the Fan', and I hope that you will enjoy it! Anyway, this is my interpretation of what really happened 'that night' and if you liked it, please recommend your friends to read this too!

_**Disclaimer: Sasuke (and his pressuring family members) are all created by Masashi Kishimoto, SERIOUSLY, only a genius can think up of a character **_**like **_**Sasuke! Oh, rabid fan girl moments online are so rare for me, so I beg your pardon.**_

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After the sun had set, Sakura and I left the training grounds and said farewell, but we were going to see each other the next day anyway. I was in a very good mood as I ran home, because I knew what I had to do next. It was as if my distressed mind was lifted, and I suddenly felt that every step I took was light and nimble – funny how talking to somebody would make you feel so much better.

'I'm going to talk to father, and make him understand how I feel. After that, I'll take him out to the pier and show him the katon... He's going to be so proud of me!" I thought happily, practically skipping through the village, 'From now on, father will treat me and Itachi differently, and he'll finally be pleased for who I am.'

The sky was dark and gloomy, but compared to what I was feeling inside right then, it was as if I wouldn't care about anything in the world.

As I strode the street, I was getting more and more eager to talk to father.

"I'm really late from training all the time," I mutter to myself, picking up speed and getting ready to burst the front entrance.

But just before I did so, I came to an abrupt halt.

The full moon had caught my eye.

Or rather, the sinister silhouette in the moonlight had caught my eye.

I rubbed my eyes and took another look.

It was gone.

"What the..." my stomach churned with anxiety. What was that just then? And what is this uneasy feeling now?

When I looked down from the sky, I felt my heartbeat quicken.

My eyes widened.

"Wh-what is..." a nauseating sensation engulfed me, "... this?"

A field of bodies laid in front of the entrance to the main house.

Bodies bearing the _Uchiha clan _emblem.

Blood were splattered all over the wall and ground.

It felt sickening.

All of a sudden, a flicker of dread and horror came to me. Where were mother and father?

I bounded through the front door. What the hell's going on?

"Father! Mother!"

"Sasuke... Don't come in..."

As my sweaty hands pushed the door open.

It was as if my heart stopped.

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Sasuke stood on the rocks, and the waves crashed before him, but drops of tears also fell. He remembered the missing piece of the puzzle. The night that his brother annihilated his whole clan. He remembered the young Sakura that helped guide him through those troubled feelings.

Yes, he remembered every single thing.

And especially what happened afterwards.

Of course, he was never the same after that night, and he knew it was no use trying to look as if everything was fine either. He felt angry that he had come home late... If he had arrived earlier, would he have prevented his parent's deaths at the least? His classmates at the academy were all talking about the obliteration of his clan, though most in which had the courtesy to whisper it behind his back. Not that it had made much difference – he still heard it all. Guilt and misery filled his hollow mind, but he couldn't bring himself to blame Sakura for keeping him back in the forest when they were talking.

No, of course it wasn't her fault.

She was trying to help him, help him find the courage to speak his mind to his father. Although it had been too late to do that, he had appreciated her kindness.

The death of his parents had made Sasuke alienate himself from everybody else because he was confused. He even decided to avoid Sakura, to avoid her pity, and to avoid feeling that emptiness again.

Sasuke lifted his head up and just cried. He couldn't keep it inside him any longer.

And for once in his life, he felt lonely.

"The moon tonight reminds me of that night and – of memories I'd tried to forget," he said, lowering his head and wiping the tears away with the back of his hand, "The faint memories I'd locked deep within my heart are coming back."

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Sasuke looked into the horizon.

And smiled.

Perhaps it was time to give Naruto and Sakura a visit.

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_**-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- F I N I S H -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --**_

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_**A/N: Please review if you liked it! **_

_**Anyway, I decided to stop the story here, because I'd like to leave the rest to your imagination. What will happen after that? Maybe you'd like to write your own sequel, if so, please give me a like because I'd LOVE to read it! (As for myself, I know I'm too lazy to carry on with the story). **_

_**Once again, thank you for reading 'The Flame and the Fan'!**_

_**Btw, Sasuke REALLY did say the 'faint memories I'd locked deep within my heart are coming up' thing. He said so in Chapter 403. Believe it!**_

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